


Double Blind

by thewightknight



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Blind Date, Chance Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, dorian's impeccable fashion sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-28 23:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21400066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/pseuds/thewightknight
Summary: Shopping for clothes for Cullen's blind date doesn't turn out to be quite the chore he expected.
Relationships: Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford
Comments: 12
Kudos: 142





	Double Blind

**Author's Note:**

> working from another [list of meetcute/a>](https://50-item-writing-prompts.tumblr.com/post/181844119575/50-meet-cutes)

Cullen tugged at the waistband of the pants, trying to straighten out the shirt he’d tucked into them, and sighed. Mia had nagged him about this blind date for weeks and he’d finally said yes to shut her up, but only on the condition that she help him shop for clothes for it. He knew how much she hated shopping so he thought that’d be the end of it, but she’d rolled her eyes and agreed.

“If this is what it takes to get you out of the house and back in the game, then let’s do this. I’m tired of your moping.”

He had not been moping, but any protestations would have been lost on his sister. True, it had been over a year since Lyna Mahariel had gone off to grad school in Europe, but it’s not like they’d been officially dating or anything anyways. There had been that one kiss at her graduation party, and then she’d left the next day. He’d almost told her how he felt, but decided to wait until she came back. And now she was engaged, and her fiancée Alistair seemed like a nice enough fellow, but that had left Cullen with a head full of ‘what ifs’ and a heart full of regrets.

And now here he was in a dressing room at the mall, with his sister throwing things over the door for him to try on for a blind date he didn’t want and that, with Cullen’s dating history, was bound to end in disaster.

He’d worked his way through and discarded five or six combinations now and he hadn’t liked any of them. Mia had been no help. Every time she’d throw up her hands and say “It’s just clothes, Cullen. And you can’t show up naked.”

Sighing, he braced himself, opening the door, prepared for another tepid response.

“I don’t know, Mia, I just don’t think….” He trailed off, because the person standing outside the door wasn’t his sister. Instead he found himself staring at an impeccably dressed and gorgeous man with a waxed mustache, and he stammered, “Sorry, I thought….”

“No, you’re right,” the stranger interrupted. "That’s totally wrong for you,” he said, looking him up and down, and Cullen could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks at the appraisal. “What was the salesperson thinking?”

“Um, it wasn’t her that picked it out. My sister….”

“Needs some lessons in fashion. What are you dressing for?”

“A date?” Cullen said, not meaning to end on a questioning note, but the entire situation had thrown him.

“First date?”

Cullen nodded.

“Wait here,” the man said, and with that he strode off, fingers trailing over the hangars on the display racks. As Cullen watched, he made a number of selections, none of which either Cullen or Mia would have chosen.

“Here,” he said when he returned, shoving the hangars into Cullen’s arms. “This pants with these shirts. Layers, darling – roll up the sleeves. And these go together. Go on,” he prompted when Cullen didn’t move. And when Cullen continued to stand, staring at him, he put a hand on Cullen’s shoulder and gave him a gentle shove. “In there, unless you want to give us all a show.”

Cullen retreated hastily at that, almost slamming the door in the man’s face. Staring at the clothes in his arms, he sighed.

The first outfit he’d picked out for Cullen looked good, he had to admit, even if it wasn’t his usual style. The crisp tee peeked out from under the dark red shirt and accented his tan, and rolling up the sleeves did set off his arms. The jeans were that ridiculous ‘distressed’ style but they were comfortable, and, as he turned in the mirror, he had to admit that they did frame his, well, assets, for want of a better word, in a positive light.

“Well?” he heard from outside, and in the mirror he could see the reflection of a foot tapping. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

“Oh, my, yes,” his new wardrobe consultant said. “That’s the ticket, all right. Give us a spin, will you?”

His blush, which had just begun to fade, came back in a rush, but he did turn around, because all of a sudden this odious chore had almost become fun.

“Hang on a minute.” He almost flinched when hands tugged at his shirt, pulling it out. “There. That’s better. Tucking it in is a bit too stuffy. Isn’t that better?” A hand on his shoulder turned him around so he could see his reflection, and again, the stranger was right. He had a fleeting thought that they looked good together, which he banished instantly. “Okay, now go try the other one. And this time tuck the shirt in.”

“You don’t really have to ….” Cullen started to say, and was interrupted again.

“Nonsense! I should thank you – I could do this all day. It’s not often I get to dress a handsome man. I’m usually going about this the other way around.” He winked and Cullen coughed, inhaling wrong.

The second outfit consisted of a pair of slacks with a slight stretch to the fabric and a knit top in a golden brown – again nothing that he would ever have picked out for himself. And again, the colors and the fit were perfect for him. This time he opened the door without being prompted, and was rewarded with a slight widening of the man’s eyes and an intake of breath.

“Yes, um. Okay,” he said, and Cullen thought his eyes might have lingered on Cullen’s chest and the way the shirt clung to his muscles. “The first outfit? That’s for the first date. This one? Save it for the third or fourth date. Unless you want to get laid right away, that is.”

Before Cullen could respond, let him know that there probably wouldn’t be a third or a fourth date – probably not even a second one – a giant of a woman with a shaved head and a face full of piercings stuck her head in the store. “Yo, Pavus! We’re gonna be late for the movie. Stop flirting and get your ass out here!”

“Duty calls, my friend. Good luck to you!” And with that, he was gone. As Cullen watched, he linked arms with the giantess and leaned in to her, saying something that made her throw her head back and laugh.

Before he could duck back in the dressing room Mia reappeared from outside the store. “Sorry about that, Cul. Work called and what on earth are you wearing? Damn, brother.” She whistled, and Cullen beat a hasty retreat.

He did buy both outfits.

It was two days until his date and he fretted all the way through both of them, nearly calling Mia and telling her to cancel multiple times. It was only the thought of hearing about it for months, how he’d dragged her out _shopping_ for no reason, that made him go through with it.

And so here he was at sitting at the bar in a trendy restaurant, trying not to pick the leaves off of the white daisy he held. That was how they were supposed to recognize each other. Mia hadn’t given him any clues at all about the man he was supposed to meet. He only knew his name was Dorian and he was a friend of a friend of one of Mia’s coworkers.

He’d seated himself at the bar so he could watch the restaurant in the mirror instead of turning to stare at every person that walked in the door. When a familiar face appeared in the reflection, his hand tightened on the stem, crushing it. It was the man from the mall, and he held a white daisy in one hand.

As Cullen watched, he scanned the restaurant, and Cullen almost chickened out again. _Shopping, Cullen!_ he heard Mia say, and he turned around with a sigh. Giving an awkward wave with the hand that held the now drooping daisy, he caught the other man’s attention. His date did a double take, and then smiled.

“Well, don’t you look dashing,” he said by way of introduction as he slid onto the school next to Cullen.

Cullen decided to play along. “You think so? It’s not my usual style, but I was advised that this look works on me.”

“Whoever told you that is a fashion genius!” Holding out his hand, the man said, “We weren’t properly introduced before. My name’s Dorian.”

“Cullen.” Dorian’s hand was warm and not sweaty, like Cullen was sure his palm was. A reckless urge overtook him and he followed that with, “And if you like this, you should see my outfit for the third date.”

“I can’t wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want to say hi, [check out my profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/profile) for where I’m currently hanging out on this here internet thing. If you liked this, please share! Kudos are love and comments are always appreciated.


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